Cake-mixer.



L. VAN ENGELBN.

GAKE MIXER.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 29, 1910.

Patented May 2, 1911.

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LUCY VAN ENGELEN, 0F MISSOULA, MONTANA.

CAKE-MIXER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 2, 1911.

Application filed June 29, 1910. Serial No. 569,566.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, LUoY VAN ENGELEN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Missoula, in the county of Missoula and State of Montana,have invented a new and useful Cake-Mixer, of which the following is aspecification.

This invention relates to improvements in cake mixers and the object ofthe invention is to provide a device in which dough or batter may berapidly and thoroughly mixed and beaten with the expenditure of littlelabor by the operator.

A further object of the invention is to provide a flexible or resilientbeater which will yield slightly to the resistance afforded by the doughor batter, but will be drawn through the same by the operating force sothat the constituents of the dough or batter will be thoroughlycommingled and the dough rapidly brought to the proper consistency sothat the cake made therefrom will be light, wholesome and pleasant tothe taste.

A further object of the invention is to.

provide a scraper by which the batter or dough immediately adjacent thehopper or pan will be removed therefrom so that the entire quantity ofbatter placed within the pan will be acted upon by the beater.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device for the purposeset forth in which the several parts may be readily assembled anddisassembled so as to facilitate cleaning, and all these objects andsuch other incidental objects as may hereinafter appear are attained inthe use of the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

The invention consists in certain novel features of the same which willbe hereinafter first fully described and then set forth morespecifically in the appended claims.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly broken away, of a'cake mixer embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a view showing thesupporting frame partly in elevation and partly in vertical section andshowing the pan and cover in transverse section. Fig. 3 is a plan viewof the frame and pan with the cover removed. Fig. 4 is a detailelevation of a portion of the pan and the cover therefor with thedriving shaft in its relative position and in section. Fig. 5 is adetail view of the revolving beater and scraper. I

In carrying out my invention, I employ a frame or bracket 1 which isprovided with a lug 2 having a clamping screw 3 mounted therein andadapted to engage the under side of a table or other support, indicatedat 4, so as to clamp the same against a cross bar 5 of the bracket, aswill be readily understood on reference to Fig. 2. The cross bar 5extends between standards 6 and 7 constituting the sides of the frameand constructed at their upper ends to provide bearings for theoperating shaft. An open frame 8 extends from the upper ends of thestandards 6 and 7 so as to fit around and support the pan of the mixer,as will be presently described. At the junction of the frame 8 and thestandard 6, I provide a lateral boss or socket 9 which is adapted toreceive one end of the driving shaft 10, as shown in Fig. 2. At thejunction of the frame and the upper end of the standard 7, I provide anopen offset 11 which receives the outer end of the driving shaft so asto support the same, as will be readily understood on reference to Fig.2. The driving shaft 10 has cylindrical ends which rest upon the off-set11 and in the socket 9 so as to rotate freely thereon, and at the end ofthe said shaft adjacent the off-set 11 I secure a pinion 12 which mesheswith a gear wheel 13 mounted on a stub shaft 14 projecting from thestandard 7 below the offset 11, as shown clearly in Figs. 1 and 2. Acrank or other suitable handle 15 is connected with the gear wheel 13 soas to rotate the same and thereby impart motion to the driving shaftthrough the pinion 12, as will be readily understood. Where power isobtainable, the gear wheel 13 and the handle 15 therefor may bedispensed with and the shaft 10 rotated through the-medium of a pulley16 and a cord or belt passing around the same and connected to a motor,as will be readily understood.

The shaft is provided between its ends with an angular portion 17 uponwhich is fitted the central transverse angular sleeve 18 forming the hubof the beater so that the rotation of the shaft will be applied directlyto the beater and the same, consequently, caused to rotate within thepan 19 and the cover 20. This beater comprises arms 21 extending inopposite directions from the hub 18 at the ends of the same, and theouter ends of one pair of arms are connected by a blade or scraper 22which is disposed in a plane radial to the driving shaft and has itsouter edge shaped to correspond to the transverse outline of the pan 19so that when the scraper is at its lowest point it will bear against thepan and, consequently, scrape therefrom the dough or batter restingthereon. The pan and its cover are arranged slightly eccentric to theoperating shaft so that the scraper will not bear against the cover, andconsequently unnecessary wear of the parts will be avoided. At theopposite ends of the side arms I provide the flexible beater 23 which,in the form illustrated, consists of a spiral strip extending betweenthe ends of the arms 21 and having its extremities secured thereto. Thisspiral strip is unsupported except at its ends so that its intermediateportion may readily yield to the impact against the dough or batter, butit will be forced to travel through the said dough or batter by thepower applied thereto through the driving shaft so that the severalcoils of the spiral will be caused to cutthrough the dough and im partto the same a regular whirling motion as the result of which all theparticles will be taken up and mixed, and the formation of large heavylumps within the dough or batter will be prevented The spiral formationof the beater will impart to the same a certain amount of resiliency sothat after the beater emerges from the body of the dough or batter, itwill resume its normal shape so that the action upon the dough will bethe same at each revolution of the beater. The pan 19 is a substantiallysemi-cylindrical hopper resting upon the cross bar 5 of the frame 8 'sothat the pan wil and held against lateral movement thereon by thestandards 6 and 7. Along its upper edge the pan is provided with ahorizontal flange 24 which rests upon the upper edge be supported by thesaid frame.-

In the side edges of the pan at the centers of the same I providenotches 25 which permit the passage of the driving shaft 10, but are ofsuch depth as to. extend slightly below the socket 9 and off-set 11 sothat the weight of the driving shaft will be borne entirely by the saidoff-set and socket and will not be put upon the pan so as to bend orotherwise injure the same. it being understood that the pan ispreferably of enameled ware. As shown in Fig. 2, the bottom of the panhas its corners rounded off, as indicated at 26, so that the collectionof portions of the batter or dough in the corners will be prevented andthe cleaning of the pan after its use will be facilitated. The cover 20is provided at its lower edge with a horizontal flange 27 adapted torest upon the flange 2 of the pan, and also with a depending lip orflange 28 adapted to engage the inner surface of the pan, as shown inFig. t, sothat the pan will serve to maintain the cover in its properposition and any dough or batter which may be splashed up into the coverwill be caused to drop back into the pan without escaping through thejoint between the pan and the cover. The flange 28 of the cover isprovided with a slight recess 29 adapted to extend over the drivingshaft, as shown in Fig. The cover is also provided at its highest pointwith a cap 30 which will permit the examination of the dough or batterat any time without necessitating the removal of the cover from the pan.The dough or batter may be thus kept entirely free from the influence ofthe outer air until it has been thoroughly kneaded and is ready forbaking. In order to prevent the driving shaft moving longitudinally outof its position in the pan, I provide thereon a collar or annular flange31 which is adapted to fit between the frame and the outer surface ofthe pan within a recess 32 in the frame. as shown in Fig. 2. To preventthe shaft rising from its bearings when the device is in use, a cap 33is hinged upon the upper side of the frame and extends across the offset11, as shown in Fig. 1. This cap is provided with a lug 34.- on itsunder side adapted to bear upon the shaft and a thumbscrew 35 is mountedin the end of the cap and adapted to engage the frame to secure the capagainst accidental movement.

To maintain the pan in its proper relation to the frame, lugs 36 areprovided on the ends of the frame to be engaged by notches 37 in thepan, as will be readily understood.

When it is desired to use the device the pan is placed between thestandards 6 and 7 with its flange 24: resting on the frame 8, as will bereadily understood. The driving shaft is then inserted through the hubor central sleeve 18 of the beater and the ends of the shaft are thenengaged in the socket 9 and offset 11, as will be readily understood,the lowering of the shaft into its position bringing the pinion 12 intomesh with the gear wheel 13. The shaft is inserted through the hub orsleeve 18 until the collar 31 on the shaft bears against the sides ofthe heater and the said collar thus serves the function of a stop orguide to determine when the shaft and the beater are in their properrelative positions. When the shaft is placed in its position. on theoff-set and the socket 9, the collar 31 will bear against the innersurface of the pan so as to prevent longitudinal movement of the shaftin one direction, while longitudinal movement of the shaft in the otherdirection is prevented by the end of the shaft bearing against the endwall of the socket 9, as clearly shown in Fig. 2. The cover 20 is thenplaced in position upon the pan and the driving shaft r0- tated throughthe application of power thereto by means of either the pulley 16 or thecrank handle 15, as will be readily understood. The rotation of thedriving shaft will, of course, cause the beater to rotate rapidly withinthe pan and cover and alternately mix the batter and scrape the samefrom the pan so that the entire quantity of the batter or dough will beturned and beaten in an expeditious and efficient manner.

My device is exceedingly simple in its construction and the arrangementof its parts, and may be readily operated by any person, while the easewith which the several parts may be assembled and disassembled,facilitates the cleaning of the same and reduces the labor of keepingthe device in a sanitary condition.

The advantages of the construction and of the method of operation willbe readily apparent to those skilled in the art to which the inventionappertains, and while I have described the principle of operation of theinvention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to be thebest embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that theapparatus shown ismerely illustrative, and that such changes may be madewhen desired as are within the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. A cake mixercomprising a pan, a beater therein, and a support for the beater aboutwhich it is movable in an orbital path, said beater comprising an openspiral described about an axis movable in said orbital path inconcentric relation to the axis of rotation of the beater.

2. In a cake mixer, a suitable pan, and a beater mounted therein fororbital movement about an axis central to the pan, said beatercomprising a flexible open spiral having its axis of generation parallelwith the axis of rotation of the beater.

3. In a cake mixer, a rotatable beater comprising a strip wound into anopen flexible spiral, and a support for the strip connected to the endsof the spiral and rot-atable about an axis parallel with the axis ofgeneration of the spiral and spaced therefrom, whereby the beater may bemade to traverse an orbital path.

4. In a cake mixer, a frame, a suitable pan within the frame, a shaftmounted upon the frame and extending through the pan, means for rotatingthe shaft, and a flexible beater mounted on the shaft and comprising anopen spiral having its axis of generation parallel with and spaced fromthe shaft.

5. In a cake mixer, a suitable pan, a shaft mounted in the pan, aflexible beater carried by the shaft and comprising an open spiral withits axis of generation parallel with the shaft, and a scraper carried bythe shaft and having its active portion at a greater radial distancefrom the shaft than the beater.

6. In a cake mixer, a suitable pan, a shaft extending through the pan, aflexible beater carried by the shaft and comprising an open spiralhaving its axis of generation parallel with the shaft, and a scrapercarried by the shaft at a point diametrically opposite from the beater,the active portion of the scraper conforming in contour to the pan, andat a greater radial distance from the shaft than the beater.

7 The combination of a frame, a pan resting on the frame, a shaftmounted in the frame and extending through the pan, said shaft having anangular central portion, an angular sleeve fitted on the said centralportion, arms extending radially from the said angular sleeve, and aflexible beater secured to and extending between the ends of said arms.

8. The combination of a frame, a pan supported by the said frame, ashaft mounted in the frame and extending through the pan and having oneend bearing against the frame, a collar on the shaft between the frameand the pan, means for rotating the shaft, and a flexible beater carriedby the said shaft to be rotated within the pan.

9. A cake mixer comprising a frame, a pan resting on the/frame, a coversupported by the pan and fitting within the same, a shaft mounted in theframe and passing through the pan but out of contact there with, one endof the shaft bearing against the side of the frame, a collar on saidshaft adjacent the opposite end of the same between the frame and thepan, means for rotating the said shaft, and a beater carried by the saidshaft within the pan and the cover.

In testimony, that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have heretoaffixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

LUCY VAN ENGELEN.

Witnesses:

I. D. PEARE, WM. 'I. GRAYHEAD.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. G.

